‘The Squashbuckler Diaries’ are the daily tales of Joy Shelley’s Life in the Dream. The ‘Lost in Dreams’ books will tell the story of what happens to her at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and so on. The diaries tell us what happens before, after, and between the books.

#14: Pleasant Dreams

“Good night, my Joy.”

Dragon Father likes calling Dragon Little ‘my Joy’, especially when she goes to sleep. He isn’t there usually towards the end of the day. His dream gets interrupted and he wakes up in the middle, leaving Dragon Little to deal with the villains who stay behind.

But when he stays until the end, he likes to tuck Dragon Little in. And she likes it, too.

“Good night, Dad.” She grabbed his hand and put it against her cheek.

“Tired, huh?” He sat next to her, allowing her to keep his hand on her cheek.

“Yeah,” she turned around in the bed, twisting his arm.

“I’ll stay here till you fall asleep. Pleasant dreams, my Joy!”

Dragon Little’s eyes closed slowly. Then, after a minute of two, she whispered. “What’s ‘dreams’, dad?”

“What?”

“What’s ‘dreams’, Dad?”

“Dreams? That’s… uh…”

But there was no answer. Dragon Little turned around to look at him. He was no longer there, and neither was his hand on her cheek. He had disappeared. He had left The Dream.

Dragon Little turned around and fell asleep on her own.


—Told by The Red Dragon

Watch how I came up with the idea for this post:

#15: Jumping the Plank

#13: The Lullaby